


Sly Dogs

by Ninja_Librarian



Series: Shidge Month 2018 [16]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon? I don't know her..., Day 16: Butterfly Effect, F/M, Flashback Story, He still is a nerd but less small and scrawny, Matt and Shiro's early adventures at the Galaxy Garrison, Matt gets character development, Matt's POV, Sam and Colleen knows what's up, Shidge Month 2018, Shiro was a small scrawny nerd when he first started at the Garrison, Shiro was initially a goody-two shoes; then Matt happpened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 17:50:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14337840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ninja_Librarian/pseuds/Ninja_Librarian
Summary: In which the fate of the entire universe is changed due to Matt Holt and Takashi Shirogane co-parenting an illegal puppy in their Garrison Dorm. And Matt inadvertently helps his roommate find his future wife.





	Sly Dogs

In the bride and groom’s opinion, Matt was way too giddy to take the microphone away from Hunk, who had just finished his speech. Well, rather, gotten a good start then just started crying and saying that he loved Pidge and Shiro very much.

Matt grinned widely as he accepted the microphone, eyes gleaming slightly with mischief.

“Oh quiznak,” Pidge muttered under her breath, leaning her head on Shiro’s shoulder. “He’s got something, some good dirt on the both of us…”

Shiro squeezed his wife’s hand, gently pressing a kiss to the top of her head, whispering, “We can throw cake at him if we need to.”

“That’s a waste of cake, babe.” Pidge responded, then took a deep breath, wondering what exactly was going to come out of her brother’s mouth.

“So, for those who don’t know me, I’m Matt Holt; big brother to the lovely, blushing bride—don’t deny it, Katie, we have proof!—and best friend of the groom. Obviously, I’ve known the happy couple quite a while. I’ve known Katie since she was born. Shiro, on the other hand, I’ve only known since I was about twelve. And I’m going to be honest: I didn’t like Shiro when I first got assigned as his roommate at the Galaxy Garrison, and I have no doubts that the feeling was mutual. Of course, that was then and this is now, and I cannot be any happier to claim this man as my brother or express how lucky these two are to have each other, and I love them very much.

“So how did we get here tonight? Well, let me take you back in time to a rainy Saturday afternoon about a month into that first semester at the Garrison…”

*****

Matt didn’t like his roommate. Which probably wasn’t fair.

Takashi Shirogane—who shyly requested to be called Shiro after his family name got butchered several times by the professors in class in that first week—was the perfect student. He was polite, he asked and answered questions equally but was otherwise quiet, he got his homework done two days before it was due, he offered to carry things and stayed late to clean up, he was a phenomenal pilot when it came to the simulators, his appearance was always neat, all of his things were tidy, his notes perfectly color coordinated, and he was an avid rule-follower.

Matt hated him for all of this. Mostly because he was the exact opposite.

The two boys had been assigned to roommate together, the only two twelve year olds attending the Galaxy Garrison, the only two that had been recruited earlier than other students. Matt had a brilliant scientific mind and high IQ, while Shiro had wowed recruiters on the simulators. Matt was certain that the Garrison put them together thinking that they’d have a lot in common, or at least find themselves in a common situation as the two youngest students in their entire classes.

The Garrison administrators were wrong.

That first month, things were incredibly awkward between them. There were polite exchanges of greetings and information mostly, but Matt did a lot of rolling his eyes because Shiro always trying to stop any fun from happening.

“Turn down the music! It’s too loud! You’ll get in trouble!”

“Why are you eating in bed? You’ll get crumbs everywhere.”

“You need to iron your uniform collar or you’re going to get a demerit.”

“Matthew, clean up your desk! What if there’s a surprise dorm inspection?”

If Matt had wanted to be nagged, he would have lived off-campus with his parents.

The point was, Shiro was an uptight, anal rule follower and goody-two-shoes. Matt was the opposite.

Teachers loved Shiro. The other students hated him, rolling their eyes whenever he frantically told them to return their uniforms to regulation standard. Matt was certain that Shiro had the Garrison rule book memorized, and once returned from getting a shower to find Shiro sitting curled up in bed reading said rule book.

For this reason, Matt tried to have as little interaction as possible with the Japanese boy. He felt a bit bad about it, though. He turned a blind eye when he saw the older students making fun of Shiro behind his back and a deaf ear when the students teased Shiro to his face. Shiro was already a target the moment he walked in. He had gotten much media attention for being the youngest pilot student the Garrison has ever seen; for that reason, most of the other pilots—mostly arrogant jock types—harassed him about his age and size, calling him a baby and worse. And then to top it all off was Shiro’s accent; he had been living in America for a few years, but he still spoke halting English with a very heavy Japanese accent that had people mimicking Shiro’s speech patterns mockingly and the poor guy didn’t get many slang terms or turns of phrase so he was laughed at when he didn't understand.

Sure, Matt got his own harassment as well; he was just as smaller than the average twelve year old, and there was talk of favoritism since his dad was an instructor and a Commander at the Garrison. But most of the time people took pity on him because he had to put up with Shiro as a roommate.

He couldn’t say he was proud of his actions, or lack thereof. But he was twelve and at the time it seemed for the best for self-preservation. At least, Matt assured himself, until Shiro either got off his high horse or the stick out of his ass. One or the other. Matt wasn’t picky.

A month into the semester, however, everything changed. Matt tugged his jacket on and grabbed his wallet off of his dresser, pausing to look in the mirror long enough to realize that he could try to tame his hair, but it would be wasted time. It was the first day of the semester that the Garrison would let the cadets go into town for a day-long break. Shopping could be done, fun could be had, lovers could go on dates and make-out just about anywhere without worrying about being caught and given detention.

Matt was excited for it. He had plans; there was a comic book store right next to a candy shop and he was planning on getting enough supplies from both shops to last until midterms. Though as he looked in the mirror while fixing his hair (a futile effort, as his younger sister would have snidely reminded him), he saw Shiro sitting at his desk, nose in a textbook. Matt rolled his eyes. It was Saturday, but did that stop Takashi Shirogane from studying? No. Apparently not.

Still, Matt sighed and turned around, saying, “You sure you want to stay here?”

“There is nothing I need or want from a trip to town,” Shiro said, pausing to make a note.

“How do you know? You’ve never been,” Matt pointed out.

“I would prefer to stay here, Matthew.” Shiro said stiffly.

Matt shrugged. “Whatever.”

An hour later, he was starting to wish he had stayed behind with Shiro. It was raining hard in town, and the comic book store turned out to be a bust as none of the holds he had placed had come in yet and there was nothing he wanted from their stock. And then the candy store was closed due to a burst water pipe. The arcade was packed with Garrison students, as were the coffee shops and the ice cream parlor and there was no mall.

Matt tugged on his hood, trying to keep the rain off of his glasses. He might as well head back to the Garrison, there was nothing here for—

He stopped as he heard a small whimpering sound coming from the alleyway. He turned, frowning. “Hello?” He called, taking a step in cautiously. “Anyone here?”

There was another whimpering, whining sound coming from nearby. His frown deepened. “Hello?”

The whimpering continued and he followed the sound, leading him to an over-turned cardboard box in a trash pile. Carefully, Matt lifted the box…

His eyes widened and he gasped at seeing the puppy. It was a mud-covered bull terrier pup, probably the tiniest puppy he had ever seen, who cowered slightly at seeing Matt.

“Hey little guy,” Matt cooed, slowly sticking his hand out for the puppy to sniff. The puppy carefully stuck his nose out, sniffing, then took a shaky step forward to start licking Matt’s hand, sucking slightly on a finger. Matt felt his heart break. There was hardly any teeth in the puppy’s mouth, he still needed his mother’s milk.

Matt carefully picked up the puppy, unzipping his rain jacket to wrap up the puppy close to him. “It’s okay, little guy, I’ll find you some help…”

Then he froze, remembering that there wasn’t a pet shop or an animal rescue in town. There wasn’t even a veterinarian. The pound was two miles away, and Matt couldn’t remember if it was a no-kill shelter or not. And even if it was a no-kill shelter, he hardly had a way to get the puppy there or guarantee that he was taken care of.

Matt took a deep breath and looked down at the puppy, who snuggled into him and looked up at him with big brown eyes.

“I hope Shiro doesn’t flip out too badly when I bring home a new roommate.”

Getting the puppy back into the Garrison was no easy feat. He wiggled and made small noises and Matt was no longer certain if the wetness on his shirt was rain water or puppy pee. He was holding his breath practically the entire time he got through the Garrison gates and into the dorm halls, fortunately very empty thanks to the free day in town, only a few upper-classmen staying behind to study or the novelty of the trips having worn off.

_Please don’t let Shiro be in there,_ Matt thought as he pulled out his key. _Please let him have gone to the library. The student lounge. Pestering a teacher about extra credit he doesn’t need. Practicing on the simulator. Anywhere but in here._

His prayers were not answered and he bit back a curse word at seeing Shiro sitting on his bunk, computer on his lap and headphones on.

Shiro looked up and pulled the headphones off. “Have a good trip?” He asked casually.

“It was, uh, interesting,” Matt said, hugging himself and the puppy slightly tighter to his chest.

Shiro nodded. “The rain sounds horrible. You better get dry before you get sick.”

“You know that’s not how that works, right?” Matt said, still not moving, water dripping off of him.

“Well, then you should at least move so you don’t make a puddle,” Shiro pointed out.

“Uh, right…” Matt said. He swallowed. How was he going to do this?

Awkwardly, one arm still around his chest, he moved towards his dresser, where there were dry clothes. He wondered if he could sneak away to the bathroom. _“Hey, Shiro, look what I found in the last shower stall!”_ He’d buy that, right?

“Are you alright?” Shiro asked cautiously.

“Fine,” Matt said hesitantly, voice squeaking slightly.

“Why are you hugging yourself?”

“It’s, uh, it’s a little cold and…”

Matt had managed to pull out a clean pair of sweatpants, then turned around to see Shiro standing behind him, arms folded and eyes narrowed.

“Are you hiding something?” Shiro demanded.

Matt let out a small nervous scoff, not meeting his roommates eyes. “No…”

It was at that moment that the puppy—the little traitor—wiggled his way up and popped his head out of the top of Matt’s jacket, blinking big eyes up at Shiro.

Matt mentally swore all the curse words he knew as he watched Shiro’s eyes get wide.

“Look,” Matt said quickly. “I can explain…”

“Puppy.” Was the only murmured thing to come out of Shiro’s mouth. Then he grinned. “Puppy!”

Before Matt could even blink, the puppy was out of his jacket and in Shiro’s arms.

Matt stared, jaw dropped, as Shiro cooed at the puppy and hugged it and gently stroked his little head with his fingers.

“Can we keep him?” Shiro asked, looking up at Matt with big eyes. “Please?”

Who the heck was this guy, and what had he done with his roommate?

“Uh, well,” Matt said, licking his lips and adjusting his glasses. “You know he’s not exactly… allowed… at the Garrison.”

“I don’t care!” Shiro said, shaking his head. “I’ve always wanted a dog. And he’s so little, he can’t survive on his own! He needs us!”

“Yeah, we agree on that,” Matt said. “I don’t know if the nearest shelter is no-kill or not, and it’s really far away, too. But I’ve got an idea. If we take care of him until he’s big enough, then we’ll help him find a real home.”

Shiro looked a little sad at that, but nodded.

And so began the marvelous misadventure of puppy co-parenting.

During breaks, the boys would alternate as to who would go back to the dorm to check on the puppy; supplies were snuck out by Matt, while Shiro spent most of his free-time reading blogs on raising and caring for puppies.

They couldn’t agree on a name, though, and called the puppy ‘boy’ whenever they returned (having determined to the best of their abilities that it was, indeed, a boy). They did, however, settle on referring to the dog as ‘the bae’ because—to use Matt’s logic—if they needed to talk about the puppy around others, they could just play it off as being cool and having girlfriends.

Which worked out well for a time.

Sitting together in the cafeteria at lunch, Shiro finished eating and told Matt, “I’m going to check in on the bae.”

“The what now Shiro-gain?”

Matt’s eyes widened and he could only watch as Shiro swallowed and shrank slightly at being leered over by Kenneth Palmer—son of one of the board members and a pilot, though without any noticeable talent. Palmer frequently bullied and belittled Shiro because he did have the talent; up until now, though, Matt had only seen Shiro brush it off and didn’t realize just how much Palmer’s bullying actually upset him. Which made Matt mad because, in the last three weeks that they had been caring for this puppy, he actually got to know Shiro better and liked him a lot as a friend.

“Th-the bae,” Shiro said quietly.

Palmer laughed, his hand coming down on Shiro’s head, ruffling his hair roughly, Shiro wincing the entire time. “So the little upstart has a little girlfriend, huh?”

“Y-yes,” Shiro said, voice trembling.

Palmer’s grin grew more malicious. “I doubt it. Trying to play cool to fit in with the big kids, Shiro-gain? I bet she doesn’t even exist. Who would fall in love with someone like you?”

“Hey!” Matt said, much louder than he had intended, his hands slamming on the table. “Shows what you know, anyone—girl or boy—would be lucky to be dating Shiro! He’s a much better guy than you. Anyone would love someone with a lot of real talent, you know.”

Shiro—whose head was still under Palmer’s hand—shook his head as much as he could with wide eyes aimed at Matt, which he belatedly realized might just be because Palmer’s grip was getting tighter.

“Oh yeah?” Palmer challenged. “Tell me more about this mystery girl then, huh? Who loves you so much, Shiro-gain? What’s the girl’s name?”

Shiro looked like a deer in headlights as he croaked out, “Bae…”

Matt resisted the urge to face-palm.

Palmer gave him a look that said that he might turn Shiro into next week’s mystery meat.

“Spelled like the body of water,” Matt quickly added. “Not that you would know the difference because your brain is the size of a snail.”

Palmer glowered at Matt and shoved Shiro to the side, the Japanese boy falling to the floor—tray and all—with a yelp and a clatter.

“Don’t think your something special,” Palmer informed Matt coolly. “You’ll never rise to be anything but a lowly little numbers cruncher. Remember that. Both of you. You think you’re going to be so great? No. You’re not. You’re nothing, and will always be nothing. Don’t let where you’re currently standing, those uniforms that you’re disgracing, fool you.”

With that, Palmer stomped off.

Matt suddenly lost his appetite, and went around the table to help Shiro up. “You okay?”

Shiro gave a noncommittal answer, not looking at Matt. He grabbed his tray and walked away, leaving the cafeteria.

It was when Shiro didn’t show up for their next class that Matt worried.

He went back to their dorm and found Shiro sitting on his bunk, the puppy curled up in his lap, taking a nap.

“Hey,” Matt said. “You didn’t come to class. I got your homework from Professor Montgomery.”

“Why did you defend me?” Shiro asked, his hand going over the puppy’s fur.

“’Cause Kenneth Palmer is an ass, for one.” Matt said, sitting on his bunk.

“Didn’t make you step in before,” Shiro pointed out.

Matt swallowed, painfully hot guilt swirling in his stomach. “Yeah, that… I’m sorry. I should have.” They were quiet, then he said, “He’s wrong, though. He’s going to be the one jealous of us someday. We’re going to be amazing and do cool stuff in outer space and kick butt and he’ll wish he was as cool as us.”

Shiro didn’t say anything.

Matt tried again. “Okay, but, can I ask… Why are you so intense about studying? And why do you put up with the bullying and stuff? You don’t report it to the instructors or fight back.”

“My parents didn’t want me to come here,” Shiro mumbled. “Not so young, at least. I begged. I promised. I pleaded. I wanted to come here. I couldn’t wait two more years. The first time I was in the simulator… I was so happy. I loved it, loved the rush. I wanted to know what it was like for real, to fly an actual ship not just a computer simulated one. My parents were worried about it, though, when the offer came. All alone, being so young. Learning curves. I told them I could handle it. I told them I’d study hard, and make friends, and that I’d be okay. That’d I’d make them proud.”

Matt’s heart sank and that hot guilt managed to get even hotter. “So you didn’t tell anyone about the bullying, because you were worried they would tell your parents?”

Shiro shook his head. “Because if I told, then it’d be real. And then I couldn’t keep lying to them, telling them how happy I am. I hate lying to them, but it makes them worry less, it makes them happy…”

“Dude,” Matt whispered. “That’s not good. I’m so sorry.” He crossed the room to sit beside Shiro. “We’re friends, and friends help each other. We’re going to get through this together. I’ve got your back, and you’ve got mine. Right?”

Shiro smiled slightly and nodded. “And we’ve got Bae Bae.”

“Bae Bae?” Matt repeated, then grinned and laughed. “I like it. Good name for a dog.”

“Thank you, Matt,” Shiro said. “And, for what it’s worth, the last three weeks have been the best.”

Matt smiled. “Anytime, man. Anytime.”

Two weeks later, however, their happiness came to a screeching halt.

Bae Bae was now too big for their dorm, too full of energy and he was starting to bark whenever Matt and Shiro left for the day.

“What are we going to do?” Shiro asked, petting Bae Bae’s head. “We’ve domesticated him now, pretty much, so he wouldn’t survive on his own if we let him go.”

“Not to mention that’s just cruel,” Matt agreed, nodding his head slightly. He was distracted when his phone dinged, showing a text from his sister, Katie.

Katie, who kept telling him how she missed him and how lonely it was at home.

Matt had an idea.

“Shiro, you’re not going to like this, but I think I have a home for Bae Bae.” He said.

“Oh?” Shiro said, looking incredibly sad for a moment then he asked, “Where?”

Matt grinned. “My house.”

Friday couldn’t have come sooner. Matt had two duffle bags packed, one with clothes and the other with a wriggling puppy. Shiro kept taking Bae Bae out of the bag to give him one last hug until Matt finally couldn’t wait any longer. Leaving Shiro alone for the weekend was hard, but necessary for the plan.

Matt put both the bags in the back of his dad’s car, constantly looking behind him to check on Bae Bae.

“Matthew, do you have a bomb back there or something?” His father asked, arching an eyebrow and making Matt sit bolt upright in the passenger seat.

“Uh, no…” Matt said.

Bae Bae let out a squealy bark.

“What was that?” Commander Holt asked.

“Me!” Matt said quickly and squeakily, then made a show of clearing his throat. “Puberty and stuff.”

“Right.” His father said rather skeptically as they pulled into the driveway.

The car was barely in park and Matt was out of the car, grabbing the bag with Bae Bae and running to the house.

Katie had been at the bay window, waiting for their arrival. The eight-year-old was wearing a green overall dress with white leggings and had her hair in pigtails and was bouncing with excitement upon seeing Matt.

“Matty!” She cried, going for a hug, then giving her brother a confused look as he put a hand over her mouth.

“What’s that, Katie?” He said loudly so his mother could hear. “You want to go to the back yard so we can catch up in the fresh air? Why, I knew my baby sister was a genius but I still can’t believe just how smart you are somedays!”

With that, he ushered Katie out the back door and into the yard. He took her to a corner behind the big oak tree and where the hedges met, squatting down and looking Katie in the eye, whispering, “Look, I’ve got something in this bag. And before I show you, I need you to promise me something: if Mom and Dad ask where it came from, you say that it came through the hedge, got it?”

Katie looked confused but nodded.

Matt took a deep breath and unzipped the bag…

Katie inhaled sharply, her eyes going wide.

“PUPPY!!!!!!”

Miracle of all miracles, their parents agreed to let Katie keep the puppy, though both looked rather suspicious as to how convenient it was for the puppy to arrive at the same time Matt did.

The weekend was spent helping Bae Bae adjust to his new home and watching how ecstatic Katie was to have a new friend.

All problems of the universe were, in Matt’s opinion, solved by the time he was back at the Garrison on Monday morning.

Except…

For the next three weeks, Shiro was sulky and sad. And Matt had a feeling he knew why. Shiro missed Bae Bae.

So when he found out that Shiro wasn’t going home for Thanksgiving break, he asked his parents if he could bring Shiro home. That was immediately answered with a ‘yes’ and Shiro perked up instantly at knowing that he would soon be reunited with Bae Bae.

That fateful day arrived and Matt entered the house to hear his mother call up to Katie “Now make sure Bae Bae stays up there!” then giving an apologetic look to the boys, explaining “Sorry, but the puppy is apparently pretty shy around new people. Nearly took the vet’s hand off and he peed all over—Bae Bae, no!”

But Bae Bae had escaped Katie’s room and leapt into Shiro’s waiting arms, licking the boy’s face, tail wagging, both incredibly happy.

“Hmm,” Commander Holt said, arching an eyebrow. “Very interesting, isn’t it, Colleen? Bae Bae hates most new people but yet loves Takashi.”

“Why, yes, Sam,” Mrs. Holt said tightly. “Very interesting…”

Matt decided at that moment to introduce Katie to Shiro. Which was honestly a mistake, because the two of them spent most of the visit playing with Bae Bae and talking together while giving him belly rubs. They both loved that dog so much…

Years later, though, Matt would realize that it wasn’t a mistake at all.

It was the start of one of the best things ever.

*****

“In conclusion,” Matt said on the stage, grinning. “This has been a fabulous example of the butterfly effect. Because Shiro and I were admitted to Galaxy Garrison two years early, and because we were assigned as roommates, and because I found a puppy, a ten thousand year reign of tyranny was ended, peace is known throughout the galaxy, and we are all gathered here today to celebrate the happiest of occasions.”

Matt nodded his head at the bride and groom. “I love you both so much. I won’t lie, it took me completely by surprise when you two started dating a few years later. But honestly, I should have known that you two were soulmates by the fact that you had the exact same facial reaction to a puppy literally appearing out of nowhere. I wish you both the best, and may your marriage be full of puppies.”

People were clapping as Matt handed over the microphone to the next person.

Colleen and Sam glanced at each other from where they sat, grinning slyly.

“Only took them fifteen years to finally fess up,” Colleen said, sipping more of her wine.

“Wished he had waited another five,” Sam grumbled.

Colleen smiled and patted her husband’s arm. “Sweetheart, I thought you would have learned your lesson about betting against me by now.”

Sam sighed. “True. So, my love, what shall be your prize? Diamond earrings or pearl?”

**Author's Note:**

> And what happened to Kenneth Palmer? Well, to begin with, Keith got kicked out of the Garrison because he broke the guy's nose. And ribs. And gave him a concussion. (Completely canon, I swear.) He's doing a lot of desk work for the Garrison now and has never been to space.


End file.
